Alexandria's Knight

Heaven's Arrow

I walk over to the statue and begin turning it to face forward. Thing weighs a ton, of course. Good thing for supernatural, demonic strength.

"Hey-ho-no!"

"Whoa!"

"Watch where you're pointing that thing!"

Ignoring them, I walk over and stand in front of the statue. Looking back at The Nine only once, I tell them, "Stand back. Don't get caught in the cross hairs. If this doesn't work, Dria will need all of you to fill in for me."

"Oh so all of us only equal to one of you?"

"Shut u— You know what, never mind. You know what I meant. I'm doing this now so just stand back."

Closing my eyes, I focus all my attention on the statue. I think about what I want to know, imagining every memory of Dria that I have all the way back to the first.

When I open my eyes, the statue is looking at me with blank stone eyes. It turns, shifting its shoulders and straightening its back. The stone angel begins readying its bow. Lining up the arrow.

"Holy shit!"

"El, no!"

"Are we really letting this happen?" Wynferd's voice comes from behind me.

"Stand back!" Hearing the sound of stone scraping stone as the bow is drawn, I watch as the arrow flies like its not made of rock. A brilliant light shines at the arrow's point and washes everything away as it hits me.

Thirteen years ago

She's sitting alone at a table scattered with textbooks from school and bills from scattered torn open envelopes, clutching her head.

"Shut up," she mutters between clenched teeth. "I said shut up!"

Some of the voices are just in her head. I feel sad that she has to suffer them. But the other voices are demonic. Demons who made their way into the human world and live to torment people who live with her condition. They would never appear before me but when I leave her, even for the shortest time, they creep back in and fill her head. I can feel them around her like infectious blight trying to pry their into her mind. Right now they can't sense me and without a little effort I cannot see them.

I let a little of my presence seep into the room just so my otherworldly friends know I'm hear.

Their presence around Alexandria vanishes. Sagging against the table, she takes a shuddering breath of relief. She sobs and I know its because her head hurts and she can still hear the other voices however faint.

A little of my presence isn't enough. Suddenly I need her to know that I'm here.

"Alexandria?"

Gasping, she jumps up so fast the chair she was sitting on slams into the floor.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" she says nervously.

I lift one of my wings so she can see, smiling at her astonished expression, then put it away again.

"You're an...angel," she whispers. Then her nose wrinkles and she looks like she's about to cry. "I don't know. Are you real?"

I rush to her as she falls forward, faint from exhaustion and catch her in my arms. School and trying to organize the household bills to make sure they get paid is the only way anything gets done around here. Alexandria is alone. Utterly alone in this small apartment. I ease Alexandria her over to the sofa and sit down with her, cradling her against my side with one arm.

She moves back and looks at me, shaking. "You can't be real."

"You're dreaming then."

"Don't do that to me," she says sitting up to glare at me. "I still know when I'm awake and when I'm asleep. Even with the..."

"I know about them, Alexandria. The voices. I'm sorry. And, yes, I am really an angel." I can't believe I just lied to her. I don't think I've ever had reason to lie before. "It wasn't my intention to cause harm. I only wanted it to be easier for you to accept my presence."

"The voices went away," she mutters. "When you touched me, they stopped." Thank you. She hugs me. Tightly.

I feel a flush assault me from head to toe. Being corporeal, even momentarily, has some quirks. I hug her back, one hand on her, lips in her hair.

"Can I tell you something?"

"Anything," I say.

"Sometimes I feel you around me. I—" She frowns, then her eyes widen. "You saw me, didn't you? When I..."

"When you touched yourself. Yes." I feel her embarrassment. "Shhh." I take it away, absorbing it through my hand on her head. As cute as it is that she's embarrassed, I want her to feel safe and at ease. At least for a little while. Without meaning to, I murmur, "You were beautiful."

Besides it's my fault. She felt me watching her after all. Avidly watching. Somehow Alexandria can sense my presence. This isn't usual between angel guardians and their charges but obviously its possible.

I'd been what I am long enough to forget how I was made. If I'd been human once, her awareness of me and reaction to my presence might make more sense to me somehow.

"Why do you make me feel like that? You're an angel," she says almost sleepily now.

"I don't know," I whisper. But I think...I think I like it.